April 1, 2021 — Meat processing plants have experienced some of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks of any workplace in the country. Officials feared the same would be true of the New Bedford’s fish houses.
Last spring, Mayor Jon Mitchell’s administration passed an emergency order that set strict safety protocols for seafood companies and other manufacturers, threatening fines of $300 per day against companies that fail to provide PPE and enforce social distancing.
And on Wednesday, Senator Elizabeth Warren, the mayor and other public officials introduced plans for a new vaccine clinic targeting the workers who kept America’s most valuable fishing port operating during the pandemic.
“This center is about protecting our essential workers,” Warren said. “It is about treating our fishermen with respect. It is about treating our food workers with respect.”